What Can I Do About My Wrist Pain – TFCC Injury or Tear

If you feel pain in your wrist when gripping something tightly or pushing on your hand to get up from your chair you may have a TFCC injury or tear. TFCC problems can be caused by falling on an outstretched hand, from overuse or simply from aging. Athletes, particularly gymnasts and baseball players who endure weight or force to their hands, are especially prone to wrist pain – TFCC injury.

What Is TFCC?

The triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) is a group of ligaments located on the side of your wrist -below the small finger. These ligaments cushion and support the small bones in your wrist and help to keep your forearm steady when you grasp something or turn it. Sometimes called a wrist sprain, TFCC can be painful and can cause loss of motion. An injury or tear to your TFCC can cause chronic wrist pain.

What Are the Symptoms and Treatment?

The most common symptoms of a TFCC injury or tear are pain in your wrist on the pinky side, with a clicking or popping sound when moving your wrist or rotating your forearm. You may also experience swelling and tenderness in your wrist.

Applying ice and taking anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen can help with your pain and swelling. Resting your hand and wrist in a brace or splint is important for healing and can help prevent further injury. A splint that allows your fingers to move freely makes it easier to wear without having to remove it for everyday activities.

There are only a few splints designed specifically to address TFCC problems. The 3pp Carpal Lift Splint and theNew3pp Wrist POP Splinthelp support your wrists and reduce pain and pressure. The straps on both splints lift and reposition your ligaments and wrist bones to aid in healing and reduce the clicking and popping felt when turning your hand or bending your wrist. They’re comfortable to be worn during activity and are recommended for healing for incomplete tears and when surgery is not needed or is delayed.

TFCC problems can be very persistent and rarely go away by themselves. An orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand and wrist problems can diagnose your condition and recommend a treatment plan.

Looking for More Information on Wrist Braces for TFCC?

Click on the images below

3pp® Carpal Lift™3pp® Wrist POP Splint

Our blogs are educational in nature and are not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Because your condition is unique to you, it is recommended that you consult with your health care provider before attempting any medical or therapeutic treatments. We are always happy to answer questions about products mentioned in our blogs, however, we cannot provide a diagnosis or medical advice.

11 comments on “What Can I Do About My Wrist Pain – TFCC Injury or Tear”

I had a TFCC injury after heavy repetitive use of my hand. I could not turn my palm up horizontal without pain, or screwing a lid on a bottle and no hand strength. No swelling and no clicking in my wrist. Lifting myself up from a chair was impossible. I had a brace/splint for 7 weeks and tried not to use that hand much. The splint was vital in giving that area rest (day and night). Repair goes slowly but steady. Every day a little bit more movement. In 4 weeks I tried to stretch the wrist but always ending with more pain even in rest. So stretching was out. I did regular light movements but not stretching to keep it flexible. It is 11 weeks now and still gradually improving a little bit every day (removed splint after 7 weeks). I can turn my hand now and screw on lids with no issues but rotating the hand backwards and adding pressure is still painful. It feels like it is 80% there. Every day a small improvement in this backwards rotating with pressure. Just want to tell my story, because I searched on the internet of what to expect and the timings . I avoided hard work with this hand, it definitely sets you back in your recovery (in my case.) I expect another 4 weeks on top of the 11 weeks for a full recovery. I am female 53 years old.

same is the case with me. i injured my wrist in the gym. since then, i used splint after 1 month it was 75% better. now replying after 12 weeks, its almost 90-95% there. can do daily chores. just that there is pain on full supination and its not 100%there plus i read many stories on the internet about people getting surgery and the injury taking a long time to heal that frightened me. hopefully i’ll be back inn the gym in a month considering my full recovery.

I’m hoping for some advice. I injured my wrist surfing about 6 weeks ago. I’m not sure if it was from impact on the board, or from a violent jerking motion while gripping the board through waves. It was pretty painful the first few days and there was some swelling around wrist and top of hand. I can’t put a lot of weight on it, have pain on the ulnar side, and occasional clicking. . I have small children so it gets little rest. Doc is “pretty confident” it’s just a sprain but offered MRI to be sure. Unfortunately, it’s almiost 500 bucks out if pocket so I’m on the fence about doing it. Maybe I should just get a cortisone shot and see how it goes? Thoughts?

Hi Marissa, I am very sorry to hear that you are experiencing pain in your wrist. Please know that while we can provide information on certain health conditions, we are not health care professionals and are not able to give medical advice. You may want to consider speaking with a hand therapist in your area for a correct diagnosis and treatment.

I have had pain in my right wrist for weeks now. This described it perfectly. Searching “why does my wrist hurt?” brought me here. I already have arthritis in my knees ugh. I better go get my wrist checked out properly. Thanks for this! Subscribed!

Good morning
I was running on Saturday at an athletics meeting. I fell and landed on my wrist. I did not feel anything at that time, but half an hour after the race , my wrist started paining. I did not go to the doctor as I thought it might go away by itself. However on Sunday morning my wrist was swollen and very painful. If I move it , it makes a popping sound. Do you think it would be advisable to go see a doctor? As I did not go yet.

Definitely. Sounds like you did a little more than sprain it. Usually ligament injuries won’t hurt right away, will be swollen the next day and can be burised depending on the severity of the injury. You will have stiffness, pain and a popping sound.
Keep it elevated and iced. A good rule of thumb doctors use is if a suspected sprain still hurts after 7-10 days after injury, there is usually something else going on there.
Don’t wait too long on it as this type of injury gets worse with time and majority of the time is corrected with plastic surgery. Ligaments just don’t heal on their own.
You are also at a higher risk of developing carpal tunnel with this type of injury! But again- this is only worst case scenario… and hopefully its just a sprain… our wrists and ankles make a popping sound if moved the right way… the “popping sound” injuries wrists feels almost like a muscle knot that pops.. you also hear it and can physically feel it borh internally and if you have your other hand on your wrist.
My advice is try not to “pop” it too much… it will make it worse.
Pain becomes worse over time and will not lessen.